SWIFT

SWIFT BICs API

BIC (Bank Identifier Code) lookup and validation

GitHub OpenAPI

Operations 6

GET /v2/bics/{bic} Get BIC Details #
GET /v2/bics/{bic}/validity Validate BIC #
GET /v2/bics/{bic}/lei Get LEI for BIC #
GET /v2/bics/{bic}/national_ids Get National IDs for BIC #
GET /v2/bics/{bic}/reachability Validate SEPA Reachability #
GET /v2/bics/{bic}/ssis Get SSIs for BIC #

Documentation

📖
Documentation
https://developer.swift.com/apis/swiftref-api

Specifications

⚙
OpenAPI
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/swift/refs/heads/main/openapi/swift-bics-api-openapi.yml

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OpenAPI Specification

swift-bics-api-openapi.yml Raw ↑ 
openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: SWIFT SwiftRef Account Numbers BI Cs API
  description: The SWIFT SwiftRef API provides automated real-time lookup and validation of payments reference data. Supports validation and retrieval of BICs, IBANs, LEIs, National IDs, country codes, currency codes, and account numbers. Enables financial institutions, corporates, and PSPs to achieve greater straight-through processing rates by validating identifiers before payment execution. Data is updated daily from authoritative sources.
  version: 2.0.0
  contact:
    name: SWIFT Developer Support
    email: developer-support@swift.com
    url: https://developer.swift.com
  termsOfService: https://developer.swift.com/terms
servers:
- url: https://api.swift.com/swiftrefdata
  description: SWIFT SwiftRef Production API
- url: https://sandbox.swift.com/swiftrefdata
  description: SWIFT SwiftRef Sandbox
security:
- OAuth2: []
tags:
- name: BICs
  description: BIC (Bank Identifier Code) lookup and validation
paths:
  /v2/bics/{bic}:
    get:
      operationId: getBic
      summary: Get BIC Details
      description: Returns detailed information about a BIC (Bank Identifier Code) including institution name, address, and connectivity status.
      tags:
      - BICs
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/bic'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: BIC details
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/BicDetails'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /v2/bics/{bic}/validity:
    get:
      operationId: validateBic
      summary: Validate BIC
      description: Checks the validity of a BIC code, confirming it is a registered and active BIC in the SWIFT network.
      tags:
      - BICs
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/bic'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: BIC validity result
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ValidityResult'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /v2/bics/{bic}/lei:
    get:
      operationId: getBicLei
      summary: Get LEI for BIC
      description: Returns the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) associated with a BIC.
      tags:
      - BICs
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/bic'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: LEI for the BIC
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  lei:
                    type: string
                    description: Legal Entity Identifier
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /v2/bics/{bic}/national_ids:
    get:
      operationId: getBicNationalIds
      summary: Get National IDs for BIC
      description: Returns all National IDs associated with a BIC.
      tags:
      - BICs
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/bic'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: National IDs for the BIC
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/NationalId'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /v2/bics/{bic}/reachability:
    get:
      operationId: getBicSepaReachability
      summary: Validate SEPA Reachability
      description: Validates whether a BIC is reachable via SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) credit transfer or direct debit schemes.
      tags:
      - BICs
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/bic'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: SEPA reachability status
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ReachabilityResult'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /v2/bics/{bic}/ssis:
    get:
      operationId: getBicSsis
      summary: Get SSIs for BIC
      description: Returns Standard Settlement Instructions (SSIs) associated with a BIC.
      tags:
      - BICs
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/bic'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: SSIs for the BIC
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  type: object
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
components:
  schemas:
    BicDetails:
      type: object
      properties:
        bic:
          type: string
          description: Bank Identifier Code
        institutionName:
          type: string
          description: Name of the financial institution
        countryCode:
          type: string
          description: ISO 3166-1 country code
        city:
          type: string
          description: City where the institution is located
        address:
          type: string
          description: Institution address
        status:
          type: string
          description: BIC status (active, passive, etc.)
        connectedToBIC:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether the BIC is connected to SWIFT network
    NationalId:
      type: object
      properties:
        nationalId:
          type: string
          description: National clearing code
        type:
          type: string
          description: Type of national ID (ABA, CHIPS, SORT, etc.)
        countryCode:
          type: string
          description: Country code
    ValidityResult:
      type: object
      properties:
        valid:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether the identifier is valid
        errorCode:
          type: string
          description: Error code if invalid
        errorDescription:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable description of validation failure
    ReachabilityResult:
      type: object
      properties:
        sepaCtReachable:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether BIC is reachable for SEPA Credit Transfer
        sepaDirectDebitReachable:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether BIC is reachable for SEPA Direct Debit
        sepaInstantReachable:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether BIC is reachable for SEPA Instant payments
  responses:
    Unauthorized:
      description: Unauthorized - invalid or expired OAuth token
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            type: object
            properties:
              code:
                type: string
              message:
                type: string
    BadRequest:
      description: Bad request - invalid identifier format
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            type: object
            properties:
              code:
                type: string
              message:
                type: string
    NotFound:
      description: Identifier not found in reference data
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            type: object
            properties:
              code:
                type: string
              message:
                type: string
  parameters:
    bic:
      name: bic
      in: path
      required: true
      schema:
        type: string
        pattern: ^[A-Z]{4}[A-Z]{2}[A-Z0-9]{2}([A-Z0-9]{3})?$
      description: 8 or 11 character BIC (Bank Identifier Code)
      example: DEUTDEDB
  securitySchemes:
    OAuth2:
      type: oauth2
      flows:
        password:
          tokenUrl: https://api.swift.com/oauth2/v1/token
          scopes:
            urn:swiftref:external: External customer access to SwiftRef data
            urn:swiftref:internal: Internal payment validation access
externalDocs:
  description: SWIFT SwiftRef API Documentation
  url: https://developer.swift.com/apis/swiftref-api